Thomas spencer miller



(NoModeL) T. S. MILLER.

CONVEYING APPARATUS.

No. 478,348. Patgnted July 5, 1892.

THE uuamsn'rens 00,, Puma-unto wunmcmn, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS SPENCER MILLER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CONVEYING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 478,348, dated. July 5,1892.

Application filed May 16, 1891. Serial No. 392,972. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS SPENCER MIL- LER, of New York city, New York,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Conveying Apparatus, ofwhich the following is a specification.

In Letters Patent No. 447,892, granted to me March 10, 1891, I havedescribed a means for supporting a fall or inward-hauling rope topreventits sagging, so as to interfere with the proper manipulation ofthe load. My present invention is designed to accomplish the samegeneral object by means of a tension applied at the end of a branch ropemoving in unison with the fall or inward-hauling rope.

My invention also relates to a detaining device whereby the carriage maybe held at the upper end of an inclined cable or track while the load islowered.

Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings show, respectively, three differentforms in which my invention may be used. Figs. 4 and 5 are details ofthe detaining device.

a and b are supports at opposite ends of the inclined cable or track 0.

d is a rope-drum propelled by a suitable engine, upon which is coiled anend of the fallrope e l. The rope e Z in the example shown performs thedouble function of a fall-rope and an inward-hauling rope, though itsoperation may be confined to the latter function.

f is the carriage running on the cable or track 0 and provided with asheave g. The downward course of this carriage may be limited by a stopf, secured to the cable.

h is a sheave, which may be mounted in a frame 1', secured to the cableor track to ward its distant end, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or may bemounted in the carriage itself or a part moving with it, as shown inFig.

In each construction the fall-rope e Z is supported at a point m betweenthe carriage and the tower at by a connected rope e in Fig. 1, c in Fig.2, or e in Fig. 3, which for convenience I will call the sag-support.This sagsupport rope operates to prevent the sagging of the rope e Zwhenthe conveyer is not loaded, and the sag-support rope requires somecoutrivance whereby it may be kept under a continuous tension as thecarriage runs down the trackway. Such tension device may take variousforms. For example, in Fig. 1 the sagsupport rope 6 extends over thesheave h, thence down around the weighted sheave j and up again to afixed attachment at t; or in Fig. 2 the sag-support rope e extends overthe sheave h, thence back to the sheave if on tower a, and thence aroundthe winding-drum d at the engine, which hauls in as drum (Z pays out,and .vice versa, in which case the rope 6 together with the part c ofthe hoisting-rope, has the same mode of operation as an endless rope andthe weight of its return portion acts as the tension device in lieu ofthe Weight k of Fig. 1; or in Fig. 3 the sag-support rope '6 extendsaround the sheave h, mounted on the carriage, thence down around aWeighted sheavej and upward to a point of attachment on the carriage.Now it is evident that when the rope e is paid out by the drum d thecarriage f will run down the track or cable 0, and when the rope e Z ishauled in it will haul the fall-block up to the carriage and then haulthe carriage to the upper end of the track or cable 0, and that duringall of these operations the weight attached to the sheave j in Figs. 1and 3 and the weight of the return branch of rope c in Fig. 2, assistedby the rope 6 being wound up by the drum d, will keep the rope 6approximately taut.

By the term sag-support rope is intended one distinctively forsupporting the sag in contradistinction to a rope employed, as in thePatent to Carson, No. 228,980, dated June 22, 1880, to acts as afall-rope for a portion of the load conveyed by the apparatus.

When the carriage reaches the upper end of the track or cable, it mustbe held or detained by some device while the load is lowered, and I haveconstructed the automatic device shown in the drawings for that purpose.It consists of a latch 19, provided with an inclined head 1), as shown,the machine being so arranged that when the end of the latch is held upnear the cable, as shown in Fig. 4, a cross-piece g on the carriage willstrike the incline and depress the latch until the cross-piece haspassed/over the head and under the deflector s and'been engaged by itshook, as shown in Fig. 4. The latch beingsecured to the cable or otherstationary support of the latch, will constantly press its head upward.To unlatch the bar q, I provide a deflector s, pivoted, as shown, to thelatch and when in the position of Fig. 4 having its free end resting onthe hook of the latch. This deflector, however, is free to swing over tothe .position shown in Fig. 5, and is compelled to do so by hauling inon the hoisting-rope until bar q moves from the position of Fig. 4 tothe position of Fig. 5. In the lat ier position, however, the bar hasslid over the point of the deflector and occupies a position behind it,so that when the rope e is again paid out the bar q will automaticallythrow the deflector back intoitsfirst position, where it acts to deflectthe bar over the point of the hook and effects its free escape from thelatch. A cross-piece s on the latch serves to limit the backwardmovement of the deflee-tor and hold its point always above the surfaceof the latch,and therefore in position to be struck by the cross-pieceg.

In practice I prefer to make all the rope (including Z and e) which isconcerned in supporting the load of a continuous piece and larger thanthe sag-support rope, which is concerned in securing the describedtension; but it is immaterial to myinvention or anyof my claims whetherthe rope l extends continuously to the drum or be spliced onto e.

I claim 1. In a conveying apparatus havinga cable or trackway, acarriage to travel thereon,and a hoisting-rope, the combination, withsaid parts, of a sheave, a sag-support rope branching from saidhoisting-rope at a point of said hoisting-rope intermediate the carriageand hoisting-motor and extending around said sheave, and means connectedwith said sagsupport rope beyond said sheave whereby the tension of saidsag-support rope is maintained when the apparatus is unloaded,substantially as described.

2. In a conveying apparatus having a cable or trackway,a carriage totravel thereon,and a hoisting-rope, the combination, with said parts, ofa sheave and a sag-support rope branching from said hoisting-rope at apoint of said hoisting-rope intermediate the carriage and hoisting motorand extending around said sheave and back again to the hoisting-engine,substantially as described.

3. In a conveying apparatus, a cable or track, a carriage to travelthereon, a latch adapted to engage with a projection on the carriage,and a pivoted deflector s, the point. of which in its forward positionoverlaps and extends above the point of the hook and in its backwardposition extends above the shank of the hook, substantially asdescribed.

'lIlOS. SPENCER MILLER.

\Vitnesses:

FRED KEMPER, J. E. GREER.

